SOUTHERN CROSS ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LTD — Interim / Quarterly Report 2008

Feb 19, 2008

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SOUTHERN CROSS ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LIMITED

ASX RELEASE

COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENTS PLATFORM AUSTRALIAN STOCK EXCHANGE

18 February 2008

SXE: SOLID HALF-YEAR RESULTS DRIVEN BY STRONG INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT DEMAND

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Pro forma net profit after tax of $8.6 million

• Strong sales revenue

• Maiden fully-franked interim dividend of 2 cents per share

• Strong cash flow resulting in $23 million in net cash balance at 31 December 2007

• Significant new contract win: $50 million Cape Lambert Port Upgrade project for Rio Tinto

• Appointment of CFO strengthens senior management team

• SXE recognised as Australia’s leading industrial electrical contractor at National Excellence Awards

Southern Cross Electrical Engineering Limited (ASX:SXE) is pleased to report a normalised net profit after tax of $8.6 million for the half-year ended 31 December 2007. This compares to the full-year ended 30 June 2008 pro-forma forecast net profit after-tax result of $12.2 million as disclosed in the Company’s prospectus issued in November 2007.

On a statutory basis the Company reported a net profit after tax of $6.8 million which includes the impact of one-off costs associated with its recent IPO of $3.5 million, which were classified as expenses rather than a reduction in equity in accordance with AIFRS requirements.

STATUTORY FINANCIAL RESULTS SUMMARY:	STATUTORY FINANCIAL RESULTS SUMMARY:	STATUTORY FINANCIAL RESULTS SUMMARY:
		Current Year	Comparison to prior year
•	Sales Revenue	$50.0m	(+10.9%)
•	EBITDA*	$9.1m	(-2.6%)
•	Profit after Tax*	$6.8m	(+3.2%)
•	Dividend	2¢ / share fully franked	-

* Earnings include one-off IPO costs expensed to the income statement of $3.68 million, which adversely impacts the comparison to the corresponding accounting period.

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On the strength of the trading result for the half-year the Board has declared a maiden, interim fully-franked dividend of 2 cents per share. The record date for entitlement to the dividend is 26 February 2008. The dividend will be payable within 28 days of this announcement. An announcement regarding the date of the interim dividend payment will be made shortly.

Southern Cross Electrical Engineering’s capacity to partner with its clients to deliver projects on-time and at a consistently high quality has led to the delivery of this excellent first-half result. The Company has benefited from additional/ expanded scope of works at existing and continuing projects which have contributed to the improved net profit after tax result. The successful completion of a number of contracts has led to Southern Cross Electrical Engineering being awarded further contracts for site expansions or additional projects works for key customers.

OUTLOOK:

Southern Cross Electrical Engineering Limited expect the continued strong growth in the Western Australian resources sector, and expansion of resources infrastructure in particular, to provide a strong outlook for the Company which is evidenced in the project order book on hand and pipeline of tendering opportunities in which the Company has been invited to participate.

Whilst there have been some delays in the commencement of work at some new projects, the Directors expect these to be offset by increased/ expanded scope of works at existing and continuing projects enabling the Company to be positioned well on track to meet prospectus profit forecasts. The impact of any delays in commencement of new projects will be to provide a significant base of work for the 2009 financial year.

“We have a healthy order book and are working on top-tier projects with quality clients”, said Executive Chairman Mr. Frank Tomasi, “We have worked hard to position Southern Cross Electrical Engineering to be a well regarded and reliable service provider, and I think those years of hard work are really paying off. Even with our industry’s current skills shortage, we have been consistently able to provide sufficient qualified electrical engineers to take on some of the most substantial projects in Australia. Importantly, we manage these projects effectively and efficiently. As a newly listed public company, we believe we will be able to build on these very successful results”.

-ENDS –

Mr Frank Tomasi

Executive Director and Chairman Southern Cross Electrical Engineering Limited

Southern Cross Electrical Engineering Limited

+61 (8) 9410 1833 www.scee.com.au